Preliminary Research Findings
Cancel the Contract Project
By Catalyst California
07 August, 2025
I. Executive Summary/Main Narrative
All people in the AV deserve to live in safety. This includes freedom from police violence, as well as conditions that create well-being and opportunities to thrive. For people of color, especially Black and Latinx youth, safety is often undermined by LA Sheriff’s Department (LASD) and high school district practices that push youth of color out of schools and into the criminal legal system (such as disproportionate suspensions, expulsions, and arrests). More broadly, for Black and Latinx AV residents, a sense safety is undermined by inequities in other sectors, such as housing and economic insecurity.
A. Summary of research findings
Below is a summary of our preliminary research findings. All of the data can be explored more in-depth throughout the page:
Education data shows that students of color are being funneled out of the classroom through expulsions and suspensions. Black students experience the highest rate of suspensions relative to all other student groups. Students with disabilities are also being suspended out of AVUHSD schools at high rates. Conversely, these student groups also have lower graduation rates compared to White students. These disparities demonstrate the systemic biases that are harming students of color, and the urgent need for more investments in better school supports and counseling.
Police activity is analyzed using the LASD RIPA data set. RIPA data contains information that police officers are legally required to input for each police stop they make. Because RIPA data is only input by police officers, it is important to note that the data is only based on officer perceptions and therefore can contain errors and under reporting. The RIPA data cannot capture the experiences of those being stopped by officers.
Preliminary research findings show that Black and Latinx youth are disproportionately being stopped by police in Antelope Valley Union High School District (AVUHSD) schools. Black students in particular are being disproportionately impacted by police relative to their over-all enrollment in AVUHSD. Stops of students with disabilities are severely under-reported in the RIPA data.
The majority of people stopped in AVUHSD schools are stopped for reasons related to school fighting or possession of marijuana. Additional stop reasons include non-serious offenses such as jaywalking or violating education codes.
The results of people being stopped in AVUHSD schools further corroborates that police activity is not being used to prevent serious crime. Most stops in AVUHSD schools result in an in field cite and release, or some form of referral to a parent, guardian or school administrator.
The racial disparities in police stops extend beyond AVUHSD schools to the greater Antelope Valley region. Police disproportionately stop people they perceive as Black relative to the general Black population in the Antelope Valley. People perceived as Latinx by police make up nearly half of all the stops police make in the Antelope Valley.
II. Background / Context of AV
A. Describe how the AV is a diverse place.
We define the Antelope Valley (AV) geographic region as SPA 1. The AV has a large youth population over-all, at 27.5% of the total population. By comparison, 20.9% of LA county’s population is age 0-17. The AV is also racially diverse, with Latinx people making up more than half of the total population.
Age | Total | Count | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
17 and under | 408,374 | 112,293 | 27.5 |
18-24 | 408,374 | 37,453 | 9.2 |
25-34 | 408,374 | 55,825 | 13.7 |
35-44 | 408,374 | 53,665 | 13.1 |
45-54 | 408,374 | 48,584 | 11.9 |
55-64 | 408,374 | 50,358 | 12.3 |
65 and older | 408,374 | 50,196 | 12.3 |
Our education analysis for the AV focuses on the Antelope Valley Union High School District (AVUHSD). Enrollment data for AVUHSD is for the 2024-2025 academic year. In AVUHSD there are more Black and Latinx students than White students. Students with disabilities have a 17.8% enrollment rate in AVUHSD.
Comparatively, LA county student enrollment also has a high proportion of Latinx students at 65.2% compared to 67.2% in AVUHSD. However, the Black student enrollment rate for LA county is only 6.7%, compared to 16.6% in AVUHSD. Additionally, students with disabilities make up 14.8% of total student enrollment in LA county.
III. The AV Union High School District and LA Sheriff’s Department undermine safety in the AV by harming Black and Latinx youth, and youth with disabilities. This occurs through practices that push them out of school and into the criminal legal system, such as suspensions, expulsions, stops and arrests. (also known as the school-to-prison pipeline).
A. Schools disproportionately push Black and Latinx youth, as well as SWDs out of the classroom
Students with disabilities have a lower graduation rate at 60.4%, demonstrating that these students should be having more time in classrooms and less time interacting with police. Latinx (79.4%) and Black students (72.7%) have lower graduation rates relative to other racial groups and they are the majority of the student population.
White students have a 5.1% suspension rate compared to 6.2% for Latinx students and 18.1% for Black students. Black students are being suspended at more than triple the rate of White students in AVUHSD, showing how students of color are disproportionately losing time in the classroom. Students with disabilities also have a high suspension rate at 13.7%.
In LA county, Black students also have the highest suspension rates of all student groups at 5.6%, while Latinx students have a 1.9% suspension rate.
Expulsion rates in AVUHSD show similar trends although rates in a vacuum are not high. Black students have the highest expulsion rate out of all student groups, while White students have the lowest.
In AVUHSD, only 60.4% of students with disabilities are graduating, while 80.4% of White students are graduating. Graduation rates for Latinx students in AVUHSD are lower compared to county-wide rates. The graduation rate for Latinx students in AVUHSD is 79.4%, while the Latinx student graduation rate in LA county is 85.6%. AVUHSD should be investing more of its resources in supporting its students academic success as opposed to removing them from classrooms.
B. Rather than getting more time in classrooms, these students are being forced to interact more with law enforcement and funneled into the school-to-prison-pipeline
Law enforcement stopped 904 people in AVUHSD between 2018-2023. Law enforcement responded to a call for service for 317 of the 904 people stopped, or 35% of all people stopped. In other words, law enforcement chose to stop students in 65% of stops (587 of 904).
Black students are over-policed in AVUHSD. People perceived as Black made up 53.2% of all stops in AVUHSD but their enrollment rate in 2024-2025 is only 16.6%. Stated another way, for every 1,000 Black students enrolled in AVUHSD 131.9 Black students are stopped by police.
Students perceived as Latinx made up 38.2% of all stops in AVUHSD, and the current enrollment rate of Latinx students is 67.2%. Latinx students have the second highest rate of stops out of all student groups.
Students perceived as White made up 7.9% of all stops in AVUHSD but their current enrollment rate is 8.9%.
When looking at stops that are calls for service versus stops that are not calls for service, we see that students perceived as Black have a higher count of stops that were not a call for service compared to a call for service. Out of all people stopped for a stop that was not a call for service in AVUHSD, 58.2% of those people were perceived as Black. In other words, more than half of the people being stopped without a call for service in AVUHSD are perceived as Black. Conversely, only 5.1% of people perceived as White are stopped for a stop that is not a call for service.
Students with disabilities make up 2.5% of all stops in AVUHSD, or a total of 23 students with disabilities were stopped according to police officer’s own data between 2018-2023. It is important to note that police stops of students with disabilities is severely under-counted, as reported by several external sources.
The table below shows the stop reasons for the 23 people with disabilities who were stopped and recorded in the RIPA data set.
Reason for contact | Reason for contact detail |
|---|---|
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | Witness saw students fighting. |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | placed student on 5585 |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | subject was identified by victim as punching him in the face |
Determine if student violated school policy (student) | attempt 902a |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | 245a1pc |
Consensual encounter and search | 5585 investigation |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | 242pc |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | student being detained by security officers for making verbal threats to shoot students |
Determine if student violated school policy (student) | SCHOOL SECURITY DETAINED SUBJECT AND FOUND SUBJECT TO HAVE MARIJUANA ON THEIR PERSON. |
Determine if student violated school policy (student) | STUDENT BEING VIOLENT IN CAFETERIA OF SCHOOL. |
Consensual encounter and search | the patient was making suicidal statements and told me he would kill himself if he left school |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | The student was suicidal and a flight risk. attempted to leave school and runaway. I detained and handcuffed fearing he would commit suicide. |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | subject made reference to school shooting |
Determine if student violated school policy (student) | Patient began yelling and banging his head against a wall stating he wanted to kill hiself |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | Subject admitted in written school statement he was involved in a fight on school campus |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | Suspect identified by school staff as being involved in incident where she threatened school officials |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | The suspect was identified by school officials as being the suspect of a battery and threats against a school employee. |
Consensual encounter and search | contacted patient regarding a 5150 wic evaluation. |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | The subject was identified by school officials as being involved in an incident where he assaulted to school staff members |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | subject was found possessing knife on school grounds |
Knowledge of outstanding arrest warrant/wanted person | Named subject in report. |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | teacher overheard sj talk about being prepared if he went to another school. sj stated what if i brig a weapon and shoot their asses. security det and searched, sj refused comment, tst for house check, parent refused affirmed weapons secure, w/a rele |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | Student was contacted due to assaulting her mother |
Examining the stop reasons for people stopped in AVUHSD, nearly half of stops were for school fights and smoking marijuana, neither of which should require law enforcement.
Whether in response to a call or by officer choice, law enforcement said there was a reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity in roughly 90% of stops of students. The other 10% of stops were because of a consensual encounter and search, to determine if a student violated a school policy, to determine whether a student in truant, an outstanding arrest warrant, a possible Ed Code violation, or traffic violation.
Whether a student violated a school policy or Ed Code should be investigated by school staff NOT law enforcement. That was 4.2% of the stop reasons for people stopped in AVUHSD.
Geography | Reason for contact | Count | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
Antelope Valley Union High School District | Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | 811 | 89.7 |
Antelope Valley Union High School District | Determine if student violated school policy (student) | 30 | 3.3 |
Antelope Valley Union High School District | Knowledge of outstanding arrest warrant/wanted person | 26 | 2.9 |
Antelope Valley Union High School District | Traffic violation | 13 | 1.4 |
Antelope Valley Union High School District | Consensual encounter and search | 8 | 0.9 |
Antelope Valley Union High School District | Investigation to determine if person is truant (student) | 8 | 0.9 |
Antelope Valley Union High School District | Possible conduct warranting discipline under Education Code (student) | 8 | 0.9 |
Out of all people stopped in AVUHSD, 13% were stopped because the officer had a reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity were due to the student matching the a description. Stops where someone matches a description are fraught with error.
Law enforcement also stopped students for a number unnecessary reasons including disrupting classwork, disruption of school activities, willfully disturbing a school zone, loud noise, litter, jaywalking, bothering other children, possessing unlawful paraphernalia. Out of all people stopped in AVUHSD, 15.2% were stopped for fighting in a public place and 12.3% were stopped for possession of marijuana on school grounds.
Reason for contact | Reasonable suspicion detail | Total | Count | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | person witness or victim ofsuspect | 904 | 662 | 73.2 |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | that the person matched description | 904 | 119 | 13.2 |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | officer witnessed commission crime | 904 | 38 | 4.2 |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | person carrying suspicious object | 904 | 4 | 0.4 |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | action indicative violentcrime | 904 | 2 | 0.2 |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | action indicative drugtransaction | 904 | 1 | 0.1 |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | action indicative casing victimlocation | 904 | 0 | 0.0 |
Reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in criminal activity | lookout | 904 | 0 | 0.0 |
When examining what the stop results are for people stopped in AVUHSD, the most common stop result is in field cite and release, followed by some form of contacting a guardian or school administrator. Police action is not necessary for student behaviors that require guardian or school administrator referrals.
Geography | Stop result | Total | Count | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Antelope Valley Union High School District | In field cite and release | 904 | 620 | 68.6 |
Antelope Valley Union High School District | Contacted legal guardian | 904 | 304 | 33.6 |
Antelope Valley Union High School District | Referral to school administrator | 904 | 234 | 25.9 |
Antelope Valley Union High School District | Custodial arrest without warrant | 904 | 146 | 16.2 |
Antelope Valley Union High School District | Psychiatric hold | 904 | 29 | 3.2 |
Antelope Valley Union High School District | Warning | 904 | 26 | 2.9 |
Antelope Valley Union High School District | Custodial arrest warrant | 904 | 15 | 1.7 |
Antelope Valley Union High School District | No action | 904 | 14 | 1.5 |
Antelope Valley Union High School District | Referral school staff | 904 | 10 | 1.1 |
Antelope Valley Union High School District | Citation for infraction | 904 | 9 | 1.0 |
Antelope Valley Union High School District | Noncriminal caretaking transport | 904 | 9 | 1.0 |
Antelope Valley Union High School District | Field interview card completed | 904 | 3 | 0.3 |
Officers can provide an offense code to accompany a stop that resulted in an in field cite and release which gives more detail about the in field citation. Officers did not provide an offense code for nearly half of the people they stopped and gave an in field cite and release. Out of all people officers gave an in field cite and release, 41% were for fighting or possession of marijuana.
C. LASD’s racially discriminatory practices apply to AV youth outside the classroom as well
In 2023 LASD stopped 31,818 people in the AV. Of all people stopped, 6,974 people were stopped for a call for service, or only 22% of all people stopped. Conversely, 24,844 people were stopped in an officer-initiated stop, or 78% of all people stopped.
Black people in the AV are disproportionately stopped relative to their total population. We see that 31.6% of all stops in the AV are of people perceived as Black, while only 14.8% of the AV’s population is Black. This disproportionality is also reflected in stops of students perceived as Black relative to Black student enrollment in AVUHSD schools.
We also see a high rate of Latinx people being stopped by police in the AV, as they make up 47.4% of all stops in the AV. While 53.6% of AV’s population is Latinx that is still a high burden of stops being experienced by the Latinx community.
Conversely, 24% of the AV’s general population is White yet people perceived as White only make up 18.5% of all AV stops, indicating that there is racial bias in who is being stopped by police in the AV.
Examining stop reasons for people stopped in the AV, the most common stop reason for anyone above the age of 17 is traffic violations. This is consistent with police stop behavior in county-wide and other jurisdictions.